The Spiritual Cancer of Fear

Fear is like a spiritual cancer. Once it comes into your life it infiltrates your whole being. The results of fear can be devastating. To see how fear can affect us, all you have to do is look at the children of Israel mentioned in Numbers 13, when twelve men were commissioned by Moses to spy the promised land. They were to go into the land of Canaan and gather intel on the lay of the land, the people and the fruit of the land. 

They spent 40 days checking out the people and the land of promise. When they came back, they gave a report about the land. They said that it was a fruitful land, that it did flow with milk and honey, they talked about who lived where, and said that the people were strong and the cities were fortified and very large, and that the sons of Anak who were giants lived there. Their report caused the people to become fearful. Numbers 13:21-29. One of the twelve spy’s, Caleb, quieted the people down and said that they should go in and take possession of the land. Numbers 13:30. Ten of the spy’s gave a bad report, saying that they were not able to take possession of the land because the people were too strong for them, the land devours its inhabitants, all the people that they saw were men of great size, and they saw the sons of Anak there who were giants and they were grasshoppers in their sight. Numbers 13:31-33

This report by the 10 spy’s caused the children of Israel to weep that night. They grumbled to Moses about their situation and that they didn’t want to go into the land to fall by the sword and their children to become plunder. They even wanted to stone Moses, Caleb and Joshua. Numbers 14:1-10. God wanted to destroy them because of their rebellion and unbelief. Moses had to intercede for them before God. Numbers 14:11-20. Because they said these things, they were not allowed to go into the land of promise at all. Numbers 14:22-23. God punished them, by allowing them to die off in the wilderness. They spent 40 years in the wilderness instead of 40 days, because of their fear and rebellion. God allowed their children to go into the promised land to take it by force, which was what they could have done if they had walked by faith. God had told them that he was going to give them the land, but they didn’t want to fight for it because of fear. Numbers 14:28-32.  God promised Caleb and Joshua that they would go in and possess the land with the children of Israel’s descendants. Numbers 14:24,30b

Fear will prevent you from going after the dreams that God has placed within your heart, like it did the children of Israel. Fear has caused people not to go outside of their houses. Fears and phobias cause you not to do many things that would benefit you or others. Fear causes us to hate each other, instead of getting to know one another. Fear is a killer of dreams, a killer of worth while ambitions and there is no place for fear in the life of a believer in Christ! God states through Paul the apostle that he has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7. God commanded many of his saints to “fear not!” “Be courageous!” “Be not afraid!”

Isaiah 8:11-13; Isaiah 44:8a; Exodus 20:20; Isaiah 35:4; Isaiah 41:10; 1 John 4:18; 1 Chronicles 28:20; Deuteronomy 31:23; Joshua 1:9.

Fear is the immobilizer, faith is the activator. If we are going to walk with God, then we must walk by faith and not fear. Hebrews 11:6. A good read is Hebrews 11, it’s the hallmark of faith. All of the people spoken of in that chapter walked by faith. They overcame their fears and did many mighty things. Faith will purify, while fear will contaminate. We must treat it like a cancer, and get rid of it quickly from our lives, before it infects us with unbelief.

Ask yourself this question. What do I fear, and why do I fear that?Remember that fear doesn’t come from God, so it can only come from one other place, and that’s the devil….God doesn’t want you to fear, because you have him on your side. The devil wants you to fear, because it will stop you from fulfilling the dreams that God has put in your heart. Fear will also stop you from growing. Faith flips the script on fear. So learn how to walk by faith and you will conquer your fears.